Unsolved: A true crime podcast
by USA TODAY and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
More often than we’d like to believe, people get away with murder. In cold cases, cops have retired. Witnesses have died. Evidence has disappeared. Unsolved: A murder mystery podcast is a true crime podcast series powered by investigative journalism from USA TODAY and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, guides listeners through these real-life cases, uncovering new clues along the way. The series features new unsolved cases and true crime cases each season. Season four of Unsolved: A murder mystery podcast delves into the disappearance of Alexis Patterson, a 7-year-old girl who disappeared on her way to school in 2002. At first, there was a massive search and sympathy for her family, but that quickly changed as her parents became suspects. Over the years, there have been conspiracy theories and false leads and cases of mistaken identity. Still, her mom has never given up hope that Alexis will come home again someday. Season three of Unsolved: A murder mystery podcas
Episodes
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Introducing: Murder on Music Row, season 2
Murder on Music Row Season 2: The Skull at the End of the Rainbow" is coming October 7. An 8-part deep dive, this narrative podcast focuses on the 1998 murder of David "Skull" Schulman, an iconic Nashville figure who owned the Skulls Rainbow Room strip club/country music bar for 50 years. The...
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Coming Sept. 3: Binge Untested for free!
On Sept. 3, you’ll be able to binge the entire season of USA TODAY's true crime podcast "Untested" – for free. Along with detectives who investigate cold cases and serial crimes, you’ll get an insider’s view of how Marshawn Curtis sweet-talks cops in multiple states, avoiding arrest and…
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Introducing: Suave
Seven years after his release from prison, former juvenile lifer Luis "Suave" Gonzalez seems to be thriving. His career has taken off, he’s in a committed relationship and he’s received public recognition after telling his story on the podcast. Suave always thought once he was out of prison and...
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Introducing: Untested
A detective’s dogged pursuit of justice links two rape accusations 800 miles apart, and puts her on the path to catch a sexual predator. She’ll bring listeners along on her quest in the new exclusive true crime podcast series from WITNESS and USA TODAY, Untested. Here’s the first episode. Binge…
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Coming soon: Untested
He terrorized women. He slipped through the cracks. But one detective refused to give up. Untested, an exclusive true crime podcast series from WITNESS and USA TODAY, brings listeners along on this detective’s quest to bring a serial sex offender to justice. Coming May 6.
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Introducing: My Cousin Augie
In 1978, Milwaukee tavern owner Augie Palmisano was killed in a car bombing. Although many suspected crime boss Frank Balistreri, the murder was never solved. 45 years later, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Mary Spicuzza goes on a journey to find out the truth. For more information on the…
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Be careful what you wish for: S4 Ep8
After more than 20 years of turning us down, the Milwaukee Police finally release more than 10,000 pages of records on their investigation of Alexis’ case. Some of the contents are completely unexpected. For more information on the true crime series Unsolved: A murder mystery podcast, visit...
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A DNA discovery: S4 Ep7
After a three-year delay in reporting due to the pandemic, we ask the experts to evaluate the DNA profiles of Alexis' mother and the woman in Ohio to figure out, once and for all, whether the two are related. For more information on the true crime series Unsolved: A murder mystery podcast, visit...
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The road trip: S4 Ep6
Two reporters travel to Ohio to see if they can get to the bottom of the claims that a young woman there is Alexis Patterson. For more information on the true crime series Unsolved: A murder mystery podcast, visit http://usatoday.com/unsolved. For more reporting on cold cases, unsolved cases and...
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A package from Ohio: S4 Ep5
Fourteen years after Alexis Patterson disappeared, a man from Ohio comes forward to say he believes his estranged wife might be the missing girl. For more information on the true crime series Unsolved: A murder mystery podcast, visit http://usatoday.com/unsolved. For more reporting on cold cases,...
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A double life: S4 Ep4
Some witnesses say they saw a red truck outside Alexis' school around the time she vanished. Could it have belonged to a serial killer? For more information on the true crime series Unsolved: A murder mystery podcast, visit http://usatoday.com/unsolved. For more reporting on cold cases, unsolved...
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Where would she have gone? S4 Ep3
Police come up with the theory that Alexis ran away after her mom tells them about an argument over cupcakes. For more information on the true crime series Unsolved: A murder mystery podcast, visit http://usatoday.com/unsolved. For more reporting on cold cases, unsolved cases and true crime...
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A guilty man walked free: S4 Ep2
Alexis’ stepfather, LaRon Bourgeois, has a troubled history with police. That is enough to raise their suspicions after she disappears. For more information on the true crime series Unsolved: A murder mystery podcast, visit http://usatoday.com/unsolved. For more reporting on cold cases, unsolved...
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She never made it to school: S4 Ep1
Despite Milwaukee’s history of segregation and distrust between Black residents and police, the whole city comes together to search for 7-year-old Alexis Patterson, who disappeared somewhere in the 242 steps between her home and school. For more information on the true crime series Unsolved: A...
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Coming May 3: Season 4
Alexis Patterson’s walk home from school was just 242 steps. But on May 3, 2002, the 7-year-old never made it. The story of Alexis’ disappearance started with a massive search and sympathy for her family, but that quickly changed as her parents became suspects. Over the years, there have been...
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We're working on season 4
I’m working on a new investigation about missing children of color, and one of them is going to be the focus of Season 4. For more information on the true crime series Unsolved: A murder mystery podcast, visit http://usatoday.com/unsolved. For more reporting on cold cases, unsolved cases and true...
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Bonus episode: Unsolved Live: S3 Ep11
Still have questions about the murder of Father Alfred Kunz? Want to hear more about what was going on behind the scenes of the podcast and of the investigation? Kunz's good friend Peter Kelly and retired detective Dawn Johnson joined host Gina Barton at a live event, where they provided some...
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'Forgive offenses': S3 Ep10
Twenty years after Kunz’s murder, members of his former parish gathered at Mass to pray for his soul. Police, who had launched a social media campaign in connection with the anniversary, scanned the crowd for their suspects. For more information on the true crime series Unsolved: A murder mystery...
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'Bear Wrongs Patiently': S3 Ep9
Detective Wayne Honer was among those who did not believe teacher Brian Jackson killed Father Kunz. While Detective Kevin Hughes was chasing Jackson, Honer focused on a different suspect. For more information on the true crime series Unsolved: A murder mystery podcast, visit...
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'Comfort the Sorrowful': S3 Ep8
Immediately after Father Alfred Kunz’s death, St. Michael teacher Brian Jackson moved in with Kunz’s best friend, Father Charles Fiore. Detective Kevin Hughes was convinced Jackson was the killer. Support for this episode comes from Audible. Go to audible.com/un to listen to your favorite books....
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Introducing: Case Closed
Here is another true crime podcast you might like. Season one of Case Closed tells the story of Erin Corwin, a young military wife who was murdered in 2014. She was living with her husband, Jon, a Marine corporal, when she left to scout hiking trails in Joshua Tree National Park. She never came...
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'Shelter the Homeless': S3 Ep7
A Dane County sheriff’s deputy came to believe his nephew, Joe Cavanaugh, was Father Kunz’s killer. The attack on Kunz was similar to one Cavanaugh was believed to have committed against his grandfather. For more information on the true crime series Unsolved: A murder mystery podcast, visit...
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'Counsel the Doubtful': S3 Ep6:
St. Michael had been robbed in the months before Father Alfred Kunz’s death, and police believed the robbery and Kunz’s murder may have been connected. For more information on the true crime series Unsolved: A murder mystery podcast, visit http://usatoday.com/unsolved. For more reporting on cold...
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'Pray for the Living and the Dead ': S3 Ep5
Police have evidence that Father Alfred Kunz had performed exorcisms without the support of the church hierarchy, which official Catholic exorcists characterize as risky and foolish. Support for this episode comes from Care/Of. For more information on the true crime series Unsolved: A murder...
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'Admonish the Sinner': S3 Ep4
Father Alfred Kunz and Father Charles Fiore had reportedly been investigating sexual misconduct by priests without authorization from church leadership. Their efforts crossed the state line into Illinois. For more information on the true crime series Unsolved: A murder mystery podcast, visit...
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'Feed the Hungry': S3 Ep3
Father Alfred Kunz met Mora Smith at Brian’s Diner, where she often served him breakfast. The two became close, with him helping her spiritually and financially. After Kunz’s death, police interrogated her and her two young sons. Support for this episode comes from Audible. Go to audible.com/un…
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'Instruct the Ignorant': S3 Ep2
On the last night of his life, Father Alfred Kunz taped a radio show with co-host Peter Kelly and best friend Father Charles Fiore. Sometime after 10 p.m., Kunz was involved a struggle, which ended with an unknown assailant cutting his throat. For more information on the true crime series…
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'Bury the Dead': S3 Ep1
Father Alfred Kunz was murdered on the night of March 3, 1998. His throat was slit and his body was found in a hallway at St. Michael School in Dane the next morning. Kunz clung to the Latin Mass and the old ways of the Catholic church. His murder remains unsolved. For more information on the…
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Season Three: The Devil You Know
The body of Fr. Alfred Kunz was found on the floor of St. Michael School in Dane on March 4, 1998. Twenty years later, his murder remains unsolved. For more information on the true crime series Unsolved: A murder mystery podcast, visit http://usatoday.com/unsolved. For more reporting on cold…
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'I'll see her in heaven': S2 Ep8
Police investigate Edward Wayne Edwards in connection with Jefferson County’s unsolved deaths. Edwards once worked at the Concord House, where Timothy Hack and Kelly Drew disappeared from while attending a wedding reception. Edwards, a con man who wrote a book in the 1970s about his…
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A troubled history: S2 Ep7
Police investigate Teri Mueller’s husband, Joe, who has a long criminal record and whom police suspect may have been involved in the death of his son from his first marriage. His account of the events surrounding Michelle’s death don’t match Jan’s and the results of his polygraph are…
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Cults and witchcraft: S2 Ep6
Tipster Sharon Blasing gives police some of her ex-husband James Dunn’s books, which discuss black magic and the practice of baptizing Satanists with water in which un-baptized children have drowned. Police eliminate Dunn as a suspect in Michelle’s death when they realize he was in jail at the…
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The girl in the café: S2 Ep5
Private investigator Norbert Kurczewski hires a police artist to come up with a sketch of the couple who was with the little girl in the Black Earth Café. One of the waitresses is hypnotized, but she can’t come up with any additional information about them. Teri Mueller tells Kurczewski that...
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Missing mom: S2 Ep4
Jan Manders can’t accept the finding that her daughter’s death was an accident. She walks away on her daughter Jennifer’s fifth birthday and declines into substance abuse and mental illness. Jennifer and her older brother, Christopher, are pretty much left to raise themselves. Jan hires a private...
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Where's Michelle? S2 Ep 3
A couple of months before Michelle Manders disappeared, her mother Jan befriended a woman named Teri Mueller. Teri stayed at the Manders’ house one night when her husband failed to pick her up at 10 p.m. The next morning, both she and Michelle were gone. Two and a half weeks after Michelle...
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The shadow man: S2 Ep2
Watertown police investigate Michelle’s death on their own for 24 hours and find her mother’s purse about a block away. Police and her family search for the free-spirited little girl. Meanwhile, Michelle’s 4-year-old sister Jennifer tells them that on the night Michelle disappeared, a man came…
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'Not my baby': S2 Ep1
Two-and-a-half-year-old Michelle Manders disappears from her Watertown home in the middle of the night in October 1981. About three weeks later, her body is found in the Rock River, which winds through town. Hers was the fifth in a series of strange disappearances and deaths in Jefferson County...
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Season Two: A toddler’s death, a tangled trail
Coming Aug. 30: Authorities quickly ruled the death of 2 ½-year-old Michelle Manders an accident. But there were shortcomings in the investigation. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel investigates: Did Michelle wander off in the middle of the night? Or was she kidnapped? For more information on the…
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A new beginning: S1 Ep 7
A new detective takes over the John Zera homicide investigation and discovers a serial killer with Wisconsin ties. For more information on the true crime series Unsolved: A murder mystery podcast, visit http://usatoday.com/unsolved. For more reporting on cold cases, unsolved cases and true crime...
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Blinded by science: S1 Ep 6
By 2009, Detective Kent Schoonover fears the chance to solve John Zera's murder has slipped away, in part because the eccentric medical examiner who did the autopsy made a mess of it. For more information on the true crime series Unsolved: A murder mystery podcast, visit...
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What did we miss? S1 Ep5
Two years after John Zera was murdered, an anonymous tip about a Franklin High substitute teacher with an unusual interest in boys' feet would generate a new prime suspect. For more information on the true crime series Unsolved: A murder mystery podcast, visit http://usatoday.com/unsolved. For…
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Citizen detective: S1 Ep 4
The day after John Zera's body was found, Daniel Acker was found standing over the crime scene in Whitnall Park. His alibi for the day of John's death was shaky, but police dismissed him. Acker would strike up a correspondence with the Zera family and start his own investigation into the case,...
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A chilling discovery: S1 Ep3
In 2009, police investigating the 1976 homicide of John Zera catch a break when a swim coach is arrested for child molesting. A search of the man's condo reveals clues about John's case. For more information on the true crime series Unsolved: A murder mystery podcast, visit...
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Where do we start? S1 Ep2
Before John Zera, Hales Corners Detective Howard Hingiss had only handled one murder case. While he narrowed down the suspect list, with the help of the F.B.I. and other departments, he would never discover the identity of the murderer. Twenty-five years after his retirement, and almost 40 years...
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Have you seen Johnny? S1 Ep1
On Feb. 20, 1976, freshman John Zera disappeared from a high school in suburban Milwaukee. In the early days, John's family hoped for his safe return. Later, they prayed whoever was responsible for his disappearance would be brought to justice. Finally, they clung to hope that advances in...
About this show
More often than we’d like to believe, people get away with murder. In cold cases, cops have retired. Witnesses have died. Evidence has disappeared.
Unsolved: A murder mystery podcast is a true crime podcast series powered by investigative journalism from USA TODAY and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, guides listeners through these real-life cases, uncovering new clues along the way. The series features new unsolved cases and true crime cases each season.
Season four of Unsolved: A murder mystery podcast delves into the disappearance of Alexis Patterson, a 7-year-old girl who disappeared on her way to school in 2002. At first, there was a massive search and sympathy for her family, but that quickly changed as her parents became suspects. Over the years, there have been conspiracy theories and false leads and cases of mistaken identity. Still, her mom has never given up hope that Alexis will come home again someday.
Season three of Unsolved: A murder mystery podcas
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